1. Technical Field
The invention relates in general to a system for loading and unloading a container rack. The invention relates more particularly to a system and method for loading and unloading water bottles into and out of a water bottle rack.
2. Background Art
There have been many devices for loading/unloading trays and containers to and from transport racks. For example, loading and unloading devices were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,203,696; 4,277,216; 4,621,969; 4,929,140; 5,310,300; and 5,547,329.
The loading of full water bottles requires heavy duty loading equipment to accommodate the weight of each bottle. For a five gallon water bottle full of water, the approximate weight of the container and water is about forty-five pounds.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,203,696 and 4,277,216 disclose systems for loading and unloading trays to and from a tray rack. The disclosed systems include a conveyor coupled at one end to a vertical frame, and which extend away from the frame to engage the trays within the tray rack. Such systems are not suitable, however, for use with water bottles as the conveyors would be required to support full water bottles at an unsupported end thereof. Consequently, the conveyors would be subjected to undue stress, likely resulting in costly replacement or repair expenses.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,929,140 and 5,310,300 disclose systems for loading water bottles onto a bottle rack. The systems included devices for repositioning the water bottles, and devices for loading the repositioned water bottles onto the rack. Although the systems were suitable for loading full water bottles, the disclosed systems did not facilitate the unloading of empty water bottles from the rack.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a system and method for loading and unloading water bottles to and from a rack.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,621,969 and 5,547,329 disclose systems for loading and unloading containers to and from a rack. The systems included a rack unloading device positioned at a rack unloading station, a rack loading device positioned at a rack loading station, and a conveyor system for transporting the rack between the rack unloading station and the rack loading station.
While the disclosed systems enabled a rack to be unloaded and loaded, the systems required two separate stations, each occupying its own allotted floor space. As a result, the disclosed systems did not utilize the available floor space efficiently.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved system and method for unloading and loading a bottle rack. Such a system should be suitable for use to load and unload heavy bottles of water relative to the rack, and should use space efficiently.